I'm new to Guild Wars 2 (I do have a background from WoW however), and I'm trying to get the hang of Mesmer. I do know that it's not an easy profession, but I really like it, plus I'm a big fan of PVP (at least in WoW) and I assume and have read that it's really great in this aspect.

I have a few questions about it:

About the clones.. How do they actually help?
They don't inflict any damage at all, hence they don't take any aggro from me even if they're closer to the mob, and when they do (at the start of the fight) the mob shatters them in 2 seconds, and then it charges and attacks me for the rest 95% of the fight.
(I wonder how it works in PVP too.. Are they useful in any other way than the skills at F1-F4?)

How can you take down multiple mobs (2-3) efficiently?
When I fight a single mob I confuse it and it just kills itself for the most part (for the rest I just need to give it 1 last smack). But with multiple mobs the CD gets in the way, and the other skills are ridiculously weak (IMO), so when I kill a second mob I'm about to die (if there's a third mob I really have to struggle).

What primary and what secondary weapon would you recommend for leveling? (I know it's an ambiguous question, so just use your best judgement please).

I'm new to Guild Wars 2 (I do have a background from WoW however), and I'm trying to get the hang of Mesmer. I do know that it's not an easy profession, but I really like it, plus I'm a big fan of PVP (at least in WoW) and I assume and have read that it's really great in this aspect.

I have a few questions about it:

About the clones.. How do they actually help?
They don't inflict any damage at all, hence they don't take any aggro from me even if they're closer to the mob, and when they do (at the start of the fight) the mob shatters them in 2 seconds, and then it charges and attacks me for the rest 95% of the fight.
(I wonder how it works in PVP too.. Are they useful in any other way than the skills at F1-F4?)

How can you take down multiple mobs (2-3) efficiently?
When I fight a single mob I confuse it and it just kills itself for the most part (for the rest I just need to give it 1 last smack). But with multiple mobs the CD gets in the way, and the other skills are ridiculously weak (IMO), so when I kill a second mob I'm about to die (if there's a third mob I really have to struggle).

What primary and what secondary weapon would you recommend for leveling? (I know it's an ambiguous question, so just use your best judgement please).

Thanks!

1. Clones, are wonderful things, broken down into the below aspects.

A: Clones do not do direct damage, but they can apply conditions. These conditions may be quite formidable damage by themselves. Staff clones cast the staff #1 skill, which in addition to direct damage (which the clone doesn't do), applies damaging conditions (which the clone does). Once you've spent some trait points in precision to get "Sharper Image", clone criticals will apply bleed that can quickly stack up, even if that critical damage itself is 0. Also, sword clones applies vulnerability to your enemies.

B: Clones are distractions. Like you said, they get killed in seconds, but those precious seconds means you can get away, or burst down your enemy free of hassle. This is very valuable for a fast paced playstyle that leveling mesmers often find themselves get into. Having these clones means squishy you get to live a long time. This is true for PvE, and it is also true for PvP.

C: Clones can be traited to have various significant effects. There are traits that buff your damage/defense for each clone you have on the field, there are also traits that spread conditions to your enemies (such as cripple or confusion) whenever a clone is killed/replaced. With more and more points in a trait line, you'd find your clones more and more useful, even key to your strategic planning.

2. You have several tools at your disposal; weapon skill wise, both the Greatsword (#2, #3, and #4 ---- iBerserker does aoe whirl and don't be afraid of using it for aoe even if it dies right after. Treat it like a spell instead of a pet in those situations) as well as the staff (#1 and #5) are capable of doing aoe damage. The sword, being a melee weapon, slashes several enemies too just by auto attacking. Because Sword #2 is aoe AND grant you invulnerability while you're channeling it, you can rely on that for aoe damage every time it is off CD. Obviously, your shatters are burst aoe skills.

3. At different levels, you'd probably find different weapons to be preferable, and this is because traits change a mesmer's play style a LOT. Unlike a ranger who can shoot arrows at level 1 and keep shooting arrows all the way to level 80, your leveling experience is going to be drastically affected every time you unlock a minor or major trait. For leveling, I'd suggest keeping a sword in one of your weapon sets. Sword #2 is quite good aoe damage but more importantly, it is 2 seconds of invulnerable time every 8-10 seconds WHILE you do burst damage to enemies around you. Offhand is really, your preference. Your other weapon set can either be Greatsword or Staff, they have different play style, just test out which one do you prefer (or which one do you think look better). Arguably for early levels staff is probably easier, because before getting Sharper Image, staff clone is the only clone that does some damage to your foes through conditions. Once you get to higher levels and have access to more traits, you can test out things yourself and decide how you'd want to play.

Scepter is generally regarded as one of our weaker weapons in PvE, due to confusions often wasted on PvE mobs (if you're kiting them, they're not hitting and hence not triggering confusion. And they hit quite slowly ever few seconds anyways, not making the most out of your confusion). However, if you enjoy playing it, you can definitely find ways to make the most out of it, for example using scepter #2 and offhand sword #4 to "bait" your confused enemy into attacking you, blocking that damage, damaging the enemy from that block skill, AND triggering the confusion that would otherwise be wasted. In PvP it's another story, confusion is hated by many. Torch is also considered one of our weaker weapons (it's an offhand weapon), but it could be quite fun and viable too simply from the invisibility of Torch #4, it's your call.

During the beta the name was "Illusionary Berserker", and "i" prefix is from "Illusionary". You will probably meet "iDuelist", "iSwordsman" etc, too.

When it comes to weapons, I find staff+sword/pistol extremely useful and complementary set, both PvE (leveling) and PvP. In dungeons I pick scepter instead of sword, because it gives more profits to hitting one target, and dungeons rarely have low-hp mobs.

During the beta the name was "Illusionary Berserker", and "i" prefix is from "Illusionary". You will probably meet "iDuelist", "iSwordsman" etc, too.

When it comes to weapons, I find staff+sword/pistol extremely useful and complementary set, both PvE (leveling) and PvP. In dungeons I pick scepter instead of sword, because it gives more profits to hitting one target, and dungeons rarely have low-hp mobs.